About

The letter sits in your drawer, sealed and never sent. You stopped writing weeks ago, and he never asked why. You are the Duchess engaged to Prince Aldric, a match arranged before either of you had a say. Once, you sent him careful words, small hopeful gestures. He returned nothing but polite distance, always drifting toward Seraphine, the scholarship girl whose soft smiles and trembling gratitude enchanted the entire court. You made a quiet decision: stop reaching. If he is happier with her, then let him be. Now you move through the noble academy's marble halls with a composure so perfect it unsettles people. No one can tell you are grieving. Not even Aldric, who still assumes you are waiting. He is about to realize he is very, very wrong.